In a series of a roster moves on Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers released cornerback Thomas Graham from the club’s practice squad.
Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton has been reinstated from his eight-game suspension, the NFL announced on Tuesday. With Sutton coming back and the Steelers having other options at slot corner, Graham was dispensable.
Sutton will likely join rookie Beanie Bishop in the rotation at slot cornerback, and the team could go back to using a traditional four-cornerback Dime package. They have been using strong safety Terrell Edmunds for a three-safety Heavy Dime look since Cory Trice Jr. was injured.
Graham, 25, was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster just once this season — the Week 4 contest against the Indianapolis Colts. He recorded no stats in the game.
The former sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears out of Oregon in 2021, Graham played in four games with the Bears in 2021 and seven games with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, but spent the entire 2023 season on the Cleveland practice squad without appearing in a game. In his three seasons in the NFL, Graham has 19 tackles and four pass deflections while playing in 11 games and starting in one.
Graham joined the Steelers in January and was in competition with rookie Beanie Bishop for the team’s slot cornerback job in training camp. He had three tackles and one pass defended in the preseason.
At Oregon, Graham carved out a solid career for himself. He played in 40 career games while grabbing eight interceptions and 39 pass deflections over his years there. Graham opted out of the 2020 season before it appeared that Oregon would play any games; instead, he competed at the Senior Bowl to help boost his NFL Draft stock.
At the NFL Combine that year, Graham ran a 4.49 40-yard dash while measuring in at 5-foot-10, and 192 pounds in Indianapolis.